Finding a beat you can dance to

Live music

I
know it takes a little more than turning on the tube, but heading out for live
music is so good for you. Plus the audience (you) is an integral part of each
performance. You'll help the performer avoid philosophical conundrums like, "If
no one's here to hear me, will I still make a sound?" and, "Were my parents
right about that whole job thing?"

So
curb your boredom while saving our many talented entertainers from these
torturous questions at any number of live joints sprinkled throughout
Rochester. Here is a partial list. You can find all the info in the music pages
of the weekly issue of City.

Little Theatre Café (240 East Avenue, 258-0412):
an intimate spot to catch some great local jazz before or after your movie

Pop
and rock

The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Avenue,
454-2966): Underground, independent rock 'n' roll from Rochester and around the
world is alive and well; local and national DJs on Wednesdays and Fridays;
frequent all-ages shows. If musicians aren't playing here, they're at least hanging
out. Wake up on the floor and you'll think you're on the ceiling.

Honeoye Pub (125 East Lake Road,
229-4535): live music and American fare in a rural setting; This joint jumps in
the summer.

The Penny Arcade (4785 Lake Avenue,
621-7625): a Rochester institution; huge national, cover, tribute, and
throwback metal bands mixed in with a lot of the younger, heavy bands here and
there

Richmond's (21 Richmond Street,
454-4612): They may apologize for being open, but c'mon in anyway. This is
downtown's mucho-cool neighborhood bar. Great bar food, parlor games, and a
deck. Uncle Ralph's Steakout is a Sunday tradition, replacing church for many.

Water Street Music Hall and The Club at Water Street (204 North Water Street, 325-5600): best
place to see larger bands, national and larger regional talent, and, of course,
Rochester's favorite bartender, Chops. Usually, ages 18 and up admitted. The
Club hosts open jams and local and national shows when a smaller room is
appropriate. Combined with the main room, it can handle multi-staged events and
festivals. Rattlesnake Pete's portrait oversees the goings-on at the bar.

Etcetera

Bullwinkle's Café (627 Lake Avenue, 458-5530):
Part David Lynch movie, part MGM musical, this is the place of eclectic,
noirish dreams, with big hats for everyone, cabaret-style sing-a-longs, and
fun, all led by an enchanting, accordion-playing hostess.

Six Pockets (716 East Ridge Road,
266-1440): great prime rib and tons of pool tables; live blues and rock. Rock
'em while you rack 'em.

Classical

Home
to the renowned Eastman School of Music, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and
the Hochstein School, Rochester is spoiled by a huge number of top-quality
classical concerts. In addition, there are many community choral, instrumental,
and operatic ensembles that perform in venues throughout the city and
throughout the year. Here is a sampling of what you might hear.

SCHOOLS

Eastman School of Music (26 Gibbs Street, 274-1100,
www.rochester.edu/Eastman/concerts/): vocal, choral, chamber, orchestral, and
other ensembles; opera, organ, jazz, contemporary music performances by
students, internationally known faculty members, and guest artists from around
the world; Notable Eastman groups include Musica Nova, the student-run OSSIA,
and the popular Ying Quartet.

Hochstein Music School (50 North Plymouth Avenue,
454-4596, www.hochstein.org/calendars.htm): Catch Live from Hochstein, the free
lunchtime concerts on Wednesdays; many other concerts by faculty, students, and
guest artists

Orchestras

Chamber Music Rochester (244-2554,
www.chambermusicrochester.org): performs at the Hochstein School and the
Memorial Art Gallery

Tags

In This Guide...

When I was getting ready to move to Rochester five years
ago, my friends and family were confused. They wore worried faces when they
asked me, "What's in Rochester?" and "That's not too far from the city, is it?"
and "Do you like the cold weather?"

Welcome to the
Rochester food scene. I write full reviews of different restaurants every other
week in City, but here is a bit of a
primer, by genre, to acquaint you with the area's amazing variety of dining
options.

The Rochester
Public Market can be noisy, crowded, and fishy, but that is part of the vibrancy
and spirit that make it a unique experience. Where else in Rochester is it
almost too crowded to move for hours at a time?

Each
public school district in Monroe County has contact information (listed below)
where you can get more detailed information about individual schools. To get an
overall picture, for some general research, or to just get involved, here are
some resources:

Although
Rochester has a number of respectable art museums and galleries, rarely will
these venues show anything outside the mainstream. For an art space to do
something daring, quite often it has to rely on the vision and resources of an
individual or a small group of people.

I'm only about 5-foot-3-inches, but I
totally towered over Isabella Rossellini. Now, you may be wondering what sorts
of circles a humble hometown girl like myself would run in that would enable me
to reach that conclusion.

The areas in and around Rochester are
rich with green space --- diverse, convenient, and beautiful places to walk the
dog, take out a canoe, find a zoo, or smell the lilacs. From the beautiful
Seneca and Highland Parks, both designed by 19th-century landscape genius
Frederick Law Olmsted, to Durand-Eastman Park, where you can feel the immensity
of that Great Lake --- here is just a partial list of some of our favorite
parks in the Monroe County (256-4950, www.monroecounty.gov) and City of
Rochester (400 Dewey Avenue, 428-6767 or 428-6755, www.cityofrochester.gov)
systems.